"I'll Deal With It Next Week": The Real Cost of Procrastinating on People Problems

Let me guess what's sitting on your mental to-do list right now:

- That performance conversation you've been putting off for 3 months.

- The restructure you know needs to happen but feels too hard to start.

- The employee handbook you keep meaning to update (or create).

- The absence issue that's getting worse because you don't know how to address it.

You tell yourself: "Next week. When I've got more time. When I'm less busy."

But here's the truth, you're not just procrastinating because you're busy.

You're procrastinating because:

→ You don't know the right process and you're terrified of getting it wrong
→ The emotional weight of it feels overwhelming
→ You're worried about the reaction, the fallout, the impact on the team
→ Deep down, you're hoping it'll somehow resolve itself

And guess what..it won't.

I see this pattern constantly with business owners who finally reach out to us:

"I should have called you 6 months ago."
"I knew this needed sorting but I kept putting it off."
"It's got so much worse because I didn't know what to do."

And I get it. These situations are uncomfortable. They're emotionally draining. And when you're already running a business, dealing with difficult people stuff feels like one thing too many.

But here's what procrastination actually costs you:

→ Sleepless nights worrying about it
→ Good employees getting frustrated because poor performance isn't addressed
→ Small issues becoming legal nightmares
→ Your own confidence eroding with every week you don't act
→ Mental energy drained by something that sits permanently at the back of your mind

This is where commercially smart, emotionally intelligent HR changes everything.

Not just someone who tells you what to do.

But someone who:

✓ Takes the emotional burden off your shoulders
✓ Gives you a clear, manageable process to follow
✓ Handles the difficult conversations with you (or for you)
✓ Makes the scary stuff feel manageable
✓ Lets you stop procrastinating because you finally have support

The business owners I work with often say the same thing:

"I wish I'd called you sooner."

Because the relief of not carrying it alone anymore? That's worth everything.

You don't need to keep putting it off.

You just need someone in your corner who's done this hundreds of times before and can help you sort it—properly, fairly, and without the 3-month mental drain.

What's been sitting on your list too long?